Heart of Rock and Roll: The Best of Huey Lewis and the News Review

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Heart of Rock and Roll: The Best of Huey Lewis and the News ReviewThey say that good things come to those who wait. Well, thousands of fans waited patiently for years for a Huey Lewis & The News compilation, only to be extremely disappointed with Time Flies. I bought Time Flies as soon as I started collecting CDs, and up to now I just lived with being unsatisfied with its track listing.
God knew how much I wanted a great Huey Lewis & The News CD, so He gave me an idea recently. Instead of waiting for another American compilation to be released, find out if there's a good import of their greatest studio hits. That's how I came up on this, a UK import entitled The Heart of Rock & Roll: The Best of Huey Lewis & The News. This excellent one-disc collection has the four essential big hits that I was dying to have in my library that Time Flies left off for some unknown reason.
"Jacob's Ladder" was one of three songs to hit #1 for the band. "Walking on a Thin Line" is a vastly underrated song of the 80s, featuring one of the band's best hooks. "Perfect World" should be a major anthem song that the world knows by heart, just like Queen's "We Will Rock You" and Kool & The Gang's "Celebration." Just think about it. The next time the Yankees lose in the World Series, the opposing team's stadium could play "Perfect World," and it would fit to a tee! "Hip To Be Square" is thought by many to be the song that best symbolizes what Huey Lewis & The News are: A group that loves to make music, entertain their fans, and to have fun doing it.
And of course, you get most of the group's other biggest hits, such as the catchy classic, "Power of Love," the misunderstood "I Want A New Drug," the title track, and the song on which Huey Lewis & The News show their musicianship skills, "Heart & Soul." I say 'most' because this album doesn't quite have ALL the hits. "I Know What I Like," "Doing it All for My Baby," "It's Alright," "Couple Days Off," and "It Hit Me Like A Hammer" were left off. But those omissions aren't as damaging as the ones that were left off of Time Flies are.
If you're a big Huey Lewis & The News fan, don't waste your time and money on Time Flies. Whether you buy it here and now on Amazon or wait patiently for it on eBay, THIS is the single-disc compilation to get if you don't want to shell out the cash for the 3-disc box set.Heart of Rock and Roll: The Best of Huey Lewis and the News Overview

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Juice Newton - Greatest Hits (And More) Review

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Juice Newton - Greatest Hits (And More) ReviewLet's go back in time, two decades before the likes Shania Twain and Faith Hill put their brand of pop-country on the charts. Juice Newton's style of music straddled the pop and country spectrums, although given some of her cover songs, belied an influence of 60's pop like Joan Jett.
However, she first made her mark by covering Bonnie Tyler's "It's A Heartache" the same year Tyler hit #3 on the charts. Newton's cover did reached an abysmal #86, and her version has more of a slicker pop production than the original. But the country inflections can still be felt, especially on the similar sounding "Laying Back In The Arms of Someone." Others seem closer to country, in the case of "Break It To Me Gently," a slow-dancing number that peaked at #11 and topped the adult contemporary charts for two weeks.
Her real moment came from two singles from her Juice album. A cover of Merrilee Rush's tender "Angel In The Morning" bettered the original by three places, reaching #4 in 1981 as well as 3 weeks at #1 on the adult contemporary charts. Juice's version is punctuated by short bursts of guitar and accompanying drums and a strong rock guitar and wall of strings presence throughout. It's difficult to decide between the soft original and this one belonging to my pop culture home page. Her biggest hit was the #2 hit "Queen of Hearts" also from Juice, which is an upbeat perfect blend of country with pop sensibilities and minus steel guitar, and a memorable hit, as it is ranked 25th of 1981's singles.
Chartwise though, her ballad "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)", which she originally recorded in 1975, made it to #1 on the country and adult contemporary charts in 1981, as well as #7 on the pop charts. This is another number strings and rock guitar replacing steel guitar in what would've been a country ballad, but it also showcases her vibrant vocals, never better than here.
"So Many Ways" belongs squarely in late 70's style rock with a hint of 80's vixen rock, maybe because of the squealing Boston-like guitars at the opening, and the later hard-driving snarls, not surprising as it came from her Well Kept Secret (1978) album and others like Boston and Bob Seger were also making it big with that sound.
Her latter hits showed her going more in the hard-rocking Laura Branigan/Pat Benatar direction, with some notable synth pounding in her #7 hit "Love's Been A Little Hard On Me." A very 80's sounding song, as was the Journey-like "Heart of the Night," where her voice really resembled Branigan. Her cover of the Zombies' #6 hit "Tell Her No" was her last Top 40 hit, reaching #27, and sounded like something out of the Flashdance soundtrack with the Giorgio Moroder-like synths and some reggae keyboards thrown in for good measure. And the title track of her 1983 album "Dirty Looks," was Blondie's "Call Me" meets Laura Branigan. This should've been a Top Ten hit at least.
More pop (and later hard rock) than country, Juice Newton's 15 minutes was in 1981, and this collection serves up all her Top 40 hits and some that should've been.
Juice Newton - Greatest Hits (And More) Overview

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Telephantasm: Review

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Telephantasm: ReviewI was really looking forward to getting this collection, 3 coloured vinyls mastered by Bob Ludwig and a DVD with all the videos on it as well as lithographs, a 7" vinyl of Black Rain also coloured and 2 CD's. The package is very well done, doesn't feel cheap at all. Everything fits nicely together and the vinyl is in a separate side of the box set to the CD's, DVD's and booklets, as it should be. So...where does it go wrong? From the first notes of the first LP or CD you're in for a big disappointment. Another release gets ruined with overzealous dynamic range compression.
Now I wasn't too concerned about how the CD's were going to turn out, I got this first and foremost for the vinyl and secondly for the DVD of the videos. Due to low sales numbers and the methodology in which vinyl records are created, vinyl editions of recent albums have seen better mastering than their CD counterparts. Don't get all defensive and launch into a CD vs. vinyl debate, because this isn't about that. What I'm saying is, the vinyl releases of new albums from Alice in Chains, Dave Matthews Band and others have received less dynamic range compression and less tools that result in dimished dynamics of the master that is to be used to create the vinyl, resulting in a more dynamic performance, one closer to what the producer was hearing in the studio one would hope.
This isn't the case with Telephantasm, the vinyl is as poorly mastered as the CD is, perhaps even worse. The sibilance does not hold up well in Cornell's high notes and Cameron's cymbals and hi-hat, it sizzles into obscurity. There is little in the way of dynamics, everything sounds like your typical 2010 CD. This is very disappointing given that there are supposed to only be 5,000 copies of this. The loudness war sucks wholeheartedly, but with top bands usually only moving between 12,000~25,000 copies of their records per year the vinyl usually escapes as the idiots in A&R at the labels and those musicians who don't know any better usually don't care about the vinyl, it's not getting into enough people's hands, therefore the mastering engineer can master with dynamics intact like most of them want to.
I compared Outshined and Rusty Cage from SIDE THREE of the coloured vinyl with my 2003 German (EU) pressing of Badmotorfinger, man what a MASSIVE difference, the sonics and dynamics of the recording are wonderful on the 2003 edition, which can still be found on the Amazon Germany website, ASIN B000057UWZ.
If you want to order one of the two copies left, just follow through the buttons, you don't need to read German to navigate, it's all the same set-up as Amazon Canada or US. I highly recommend this pressing at 24 Euros, even though you'll have to pony up 14 Euros for shipping to North America it's still worth it to get the best sounding version of Badmotorfinger I've ever heard, although if you don't spin vinyl be content with the original CD, it's also very good.
I was hoping with Bob Ludwig's name attached that the CD's might be okay, but should have know the label and project team probably said "no, we need this to be loud like other bands albums are these days, or kids won't like it" - which is TOTAL BLOODY NONSENSE. You can see a comparison between the Badmotorfinger CD and the Telephantasm CD in a post I made at the Steve Hoffman forums by googling "Soundgarden outshined telephantasm vs badmotorfinger dynamic comparison" and click on the first link that says "New release sounds like crap" and check out post #20.
The 2010 tracks are clearly boosted, well outside the scope of CD's limits resulting in brickwalling and/or limiting to prevent a massive amount of clipping. Dynamics are suffering, what a shame. It's nowhere near as bad as Death Magnetic, but it's still poor.
I will say that the CD actually sounds better than the vinyl to my ears, or maybe it's just that the vinyl sounds so poor compared to the 2003 EU pressing of Badmotorfinger that I don't even remember how bad the CD sounds.
Now maybe there is one saving grace for this package...the DVD. Nope, it suffers too. The audio isn't as bad as the CD and vinyl from a dynamic perspective, but the bitrate afforded the DVD's audio track is poor. They've gone with 2.0 Dolby Digital only at a bitrate of a little over 200 Kbps. No effort was made to visit the studio and create a 5.1 mix, they didn't even add a 2.0 PCM uncompressed stereo mix which would have been much more palatable. I'd love it if they'd included a Blu-ray of all the videos, but really the source material is probably video in most cases and the Blu-ray would only allow for less compression...but a high resolution 24-bit audio track wouldn't have gone amiss. Anyway, that's neither here nor there, it's nice to see some of these videos and remember watching the Buzz Bin on MTV in 1991 seeing Outshined...but the lack of fidelity in choosing only a Dolby 2.0 mix takes away from it. Had they used the full 448 Kbps allowed on DVD for Dolby it would have been a much more enjoyable sonic experience.
Overall I can only give this collection 2 stars. It's well put together and definitely great for collectors, but the sonic misadventures that afflict the DVD, the 3LP's and the 2CD's are just not welcome in my house, I'm probably returning mine to Amazon.
Telephantasm: OverviewDeluxe three disc (two CDs + DVD) edition. 2010 collection from the Alt-Hard Rockers, one of the most popular bands to emerge from the Grunge/Seattle Rock scene. This multi-label, career-spanning retrospective album includes beloved band hits, deep back catalogue cuts and a never-before-heard unreleased track entitled "Black Rain," taken from the Badmotorfinger recording sessions. Telephantasm marks the first time ever a collection of its kind has been collated in one place.

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Souvenirs Review

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Souvenirs ReviewA lot of water has passed under the bridge since this fine anthology of Vince Gill's earliest songs was first released, but it's a classic and sounds as good - even better - today as it did in 1995. Many excellent comments about this album have been made here already, and I'm seconding them with a nod to my favorites on the album:
Vince had a hand in writing most of the songs here, but the one that's the best recording for my money is the smooth-jazz crossover sound of the Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why." Next is the wonderful rendering (and redemption after Whitney Houston murdered it) of Dolly Parton's heart-rending "I Will Always Love You." Her voice in a duet with Vince on this song is a perfect match of pure vocalizing.
Vince's high, clear voice seems best suited to songs of loss and yearning, and they comprise the majority of these songs, ranging from the starkly sad "When I Call Your Name" and the aching-sweet "I Still Believe in You." The up-tempo, rollicking "One More Last Chance" seems almost out of place in the company of such heart-felt musical ruminations.
The emotional quality of these songs is reflected in the awesome range of instrumentation, arrangements, and musicianship. There is a bit of honky-tonk, some country rock, and lots of pure country with soul-piercing roots touches. This is just a fine, essential album by a country great.Souvenirs Overview

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The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboy's Vulgar Hits Review

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The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboy's Vulgar Hits ReviewLike many Pantera fans are saying on here, this compilation is missing some essential Pantera songs (especially "F*cking Hostile") in favor of some surprise appearances (i.e. "I'll Cast a Shadow") and rarities ("Cat Scratch Fever", "Hole in the Sky" and a live version of "Where You Come From".)
In addition, some songs are on here that probably shouldn't be. Take "Planet Caravan", for instance. Though it's a single, it wasn't written by Pantera (it's a Black Sabbath cover) and it doesn't sound like what Pantera normally sound like (it isn't a good representation of the band.)
Also, "The Great Southern Trendkill" (a very overlooked album) is only represented by one song on here. "TGST" was as good of an album as "Reinventing the Steel", thus it deserves more than one song (maybe "Floods" and/or the Grammy nominated acoustic ballad "Suicide Note Pt. 1".)
But, most of the Pantera classics are here ("Cowboys From Hell", "Mouth For War", "Walk", "Revolution is My Name".) Plus, most of the songs that ARE here are pure gold, and, "Planet Caravan" aside, no Pantera greatest hits collection would be complete without any of these songs.

"Cowboys from Hell" is an instant classic that defined Pantera.
"Cemetery Gates" is sort of a morbid power ballad, but it does have it's heavy points. Plus, near the end, Phil yells in a falsetto voice.
"Mouth for War", "Vulgar"'s lead single, begins with a great opening guitar riff and drum work, which speed up as the song progresses, before falling into a groove.
"Walk" has a famous and mighty catch staccato riff which runs throughout the whole song, and pauses (only briefly) for a speaker shredding guitar solo.
"This love" has melodic verses, which lead in nicely to the still brutal choruses.
"I'm Broken" has chunky, meaty, catchy riffs and a good guitar solo.
"Becoming" opens with machine gun riffs and drums, "boom ba boom" sound. Towards the end, Vinnie Paul drives the beat with fast double-bass work. "
"5 Minutes Alone" boasts bobbing, grinding riffs, and Phil's howl will stick in your head for hours.
"Planet Caravan" is as aforementioned, a Black Sabbath Cover. Probably the most melodic song Pantera ever recorded, with a spacey atmosphere and vocals and soft percussion. It is distinguishable from but also remains true to the original.
"Drag the Waters" layers "chug chug" riffs on top of each other, and the drum's have a cowbell, which is a clever inclusion.
"I'll cast a shadow" a shadow begins as a brutal and pounding song that smacks you around, but after the midpoint, it goes downhill.
"Goddamn electric" has a bobbing beat with pounding drums and another good guitar solo.
"Revolution is My Name" is probably the catchiest song from "Reinventing the Steel", and is a hit single. It has crunchy guitars, catchy drum beats, and two winding guitar solos. Phil howls throughout most of this song, but near the end he says one spoken word: "Revolution".

The DVD is a nice touch. It could have included a brief history of the band (like the C.D. booklet does), but for those of you who like Pantera's music videos (and are tired of waiting for MTV to play a Pantera music video) won't be disappointed with this DVD.
So, this compilation has it's ups and downs, but it's--overall-- a good selection and representation of Pantera. You might want to get this just for the aforementioned rarities, because Pantera only has five C.D.'s, and five isn't that many. So, my advice to you is why not get all of them? If you insist on not getting all five, just get "Vulgar Display of Power" and "Far Beyond Driven". These albums are almost greatest hits albums in themselves.The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboy's Vulgar Hits Overview

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Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow the Greatest Hits of Kenny Loggins Review

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Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow the Greatest Hits of Kenny Loggins ReviewThere was life yet for Kenny Loggins following the amicable split of Loggins and Messina. His solo career lasted well into the 90's. The first two songs here characterize a lighter feel, with some classic disco-type string synths. Keep The Fire's "This Is It" was one of two songs co-written with Michael McDonald, the other one, "What A Fool Believes", being a hit for the Doobies. A song describing a momentous decision, this was inspired by Loggins' father undergoing an ordeal and choosing life over death.
"Whenever I Call You 'Friend'", from his Nightwatch album, features Stevie Nicks on harmony vocals and was a US Top Ten hit. It starts slow, but from the refrain, the tempo bursts into a classic disco beat. There's also a nice sax solo in the middle. This song was co-written with Melissa Manchester.
The jaunty mid-tempo piano number "Heart To Heart" has a 70's R&B feel to it. This features Michael McDonald on the Rhodes piano, and on backing vocals, Richard Page and Steve George, who would later fly on their broken wings to form Mr. Mister.
Loggins made his heyday in the 1980's by being "Mr. Soundtrack," most of them which hit the Top Ten. That started with "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack, whose fun stomping tone set the pace for the movie and finally yielded a tune obviously bogus gophers could shake to. Then there's the thumping drums and surf guitar of "Footloose" which topped the US charts, and the sizzling and roaring rock guitar and a sound and lyrics that mirrored the aura of zipping in the sky at who-knows-how-many-miles-an-hour of Top Gun's "Danger Zone." Those latter two were two songs I associated with Kenny Loggins.
The next soundtrack song I remember well is his ballad "Meet Me Halfway" from the Over The Top soundtrack, also on his Avalon album. Like "Danger Zone," the music was written by Giorgio Moroder. Unfortunately, "Nobody's Fool" from Caddyshack II and also on Avalon, is not included here.
The most heartmelting tune here is "Return To Pooh Corner", the sequel to his song "House At Pooh Corner" which the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band covered. A nostalgic return to a childhood long gone, symbolized by the house on Pooh Corner, with "so much to be done/count all the bees in the hive/chase all the clouds from the sky" Amy Grant provides guest vocals and Mr. Mister's keyboardist Steve George is the backing vocalist.
The highly energetic "Don't Fight It," a duet with Steve Perry, like "Heart To Heart" is taken from 1982's High Adventure, and ushers in Loggins' rock era before "Danger Zone." It's a combination 70's rocker with a Journey sound in the choruses. That's Neil Gerardo, Pat Benatar's producer and husband on lead rhythm guitar.
The ballad "Forever" was another song I remember during my 80's days, from the Vox Humana album, and it has a characteristic guitar snarl that takes it to power ballad territory in the chorus, courtesy of Toto's Steve Lukather.
The introspection and deeper feelings Loggins began on "Return To Pooh Corner" continued on two songs from Leap Of Faith. One of them was the environmental movement anthem "Conviction Of The Heart" which he performed on Earth Day 95 at the Mall in D.C. The other is "The Real Thing" for his daughter's christening.
"For The First Time" saw Loggins returning to soundtrack music, providing a ballad laden with string arrangements for One Fine Day starring George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer.
The title track from his solo debut, "Celebrate Me Home" is a laid-back piano ballad that eventually became a Christmas song of sorts.
A worthy collection that takes all shades of Loggins, hit soundtrack songs, ballads, more personal and introspective songs, and that wished for return to Pooh Corner.Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow the Greatest Hits of Kenny Loggins OverviewNo Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: CDArtist: LOGGINS,KENNYTitle: YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW GREATStreet Release Date: 03/25/1997

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Ultimate Air Supply Review

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Ultimate Air Supply ReviewOf all of the Greatest Hits' collections that Air Supply has released, this is by far the best and most complete one out. This contains 18 of Air Supply's best songs. The period covered starts in the early 80s with "Lost in Love" and goes to 1995 with "News From Nowhere".
Air Supply really went through three phases. Phase 1 was from 1976 through 1980 -this was before they had commerical success and most of these songs are hard to find and only available on imports. Phase 2 was the most successful commercial period for Air Supply going from 1980 with the "Lost in Love" album, through the "Greatest Hits" album. Phase 3 was less commercially successful, yet the creativity didn't disappear during this phase. On the "Ultimate Air Supply" collection, Phases 2 and 3 are what is included. It would have been nice to see some Phase 1 songs, but it doesn't take away from the quality of the album. One thing to note, if you are looking at other Air Supply collections of hits, this is the most complete. In fact every song from "Greatest Hits" (which really focuses on Phase 2) is on this collection.
The nice thing about this CD is it chronicles all of the songs in the album order. The liner notes are excellent and feature short commentary by Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell. Although the commentary is short, it gives you a lot of insight into the songs as well as some of the producers Air Supply worked with (Clive Davis, Jim Steinman). The liner notes do open with a chronicle of the band's history written by Michael Hill. This chronicle does talk about some of the Phase 1 work that was done by Air Supply. The only shortcoming of the liner notes is that the studio musicians are not credited very well (they actually do a better job on 'Greatest Hits' with this) and the photos included aren't really that great.
The songs from Phase 2 really speak for themselves.Songs such as "I Want to Give It All", "Two Less Lonely People in the World", "Don't Be Afraid", and "Young Love" which were omitted on the "Greatest Hits" album are a part of this album. In Michael Hill's chronicle and the commentary, they discuss how they had to convince Jim Steinman to cut "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" from 20 to 5 minutes - personally I would have loved to have heard what the 20 minute version would have sounded like.
For Air Supply, "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" marked the peak of their popularity and the end of Phase 2. Phase 3 saw Air Supply's record sales dwindle - especially in the U.S. The first album "Air Supply" was actually a very solid album and featured two songs "Just As I Am" and "The Power of Love". "Just As I Am" surprisingly didn't chart well and its a shame because it was probably one of the best songs they produced. "The Power of Love" is a song that was later made famous by Laura Branigan and "Celine Dion", but Russell Hitchcock's voice blows any other version away of that song. Those two songs are two of five songs included from Phase 3. Another Phase 3 song is a remake of Harry Nilsson's "Without You" which I also think is the best version you will hear. I was surprised that the song "Lonely is the Night" from the "Hearts in Motion".
This is a solid collection and well worth the price. It chronciles the band very well and delivers some great insight. It would be my first choice if I was looking to build an Air Supply collection.Ultimate Air Supply Overview

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Very Best of Dan Fogelberg Review

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Very Best of Dan Fogelberg ReviewDan Fogelberg, one of the greatest singer/songwriters alive, has been in this business for 30 years, and spent the first twenty of those signed to Epic, part of mega-label SONY. Unfortunately, SONY decided to terminate the contract in 1994 after Dan Fogelberg's later albums ceased to be the million-sellers they were used to (irrespective of quality content).
Anyway, this is why this "Best of"-Collection contains charting DF metarial from 1974 to 1993, not necessarily the best, but certainly the "best-known" of Dan Fogelberg. The CD basically contains the same songs released on SONY's 1982 "Dan Fogelberg's Greatest Hits" and adds some of the late 1980's and early 1990's (up to the "River of Souls" album) material. It is therefore an excellent introduction into Dan's musicical variety and songwriting abilities, be it ballads or rockers.
Anybody interested in Dan's work beyond the hits should check out the 4-disc "Portrait" release, of course, and make sure to get a hold of the (inpendently issued) CD's Dan has recorded after his SONY years.Very Best of Dan Fogelberg Overview

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The Very Best of Badfinger Review

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The Very Best of Badfinger ReviewI'll begin by saying that I have very mixed feelings about this collection. As a single-disc compilation, it is obviously not as comprehensive as the two previous volume of "The Best of Badfinger". On the other hand, it does condense their Apple and Warner Brother years onto one tidy disc for the first time ever. For anybody who's never really experienced Badfinger, this collection is probably a good place to start. Yes, many people have heard several of the hits before, but they don't know who sang them. Play this at any gathering and I guarantee that everybody will know at least two or three of these songs (you may even create some new Badfinger fans).
Now for the critique...
The compilers pretty much culled all of the essential tracks from their album as the Iveys and from their first album as Badfinger (except for maybe "Crimson Ship" from _Magic Christian Music_) The same goes for the tracks from their second album, _No Dice_. One can never tire of the likes of "No Matter What" or "We're for the Dark". The inclusion of the "rare" "I'll Be the One" is a nice surprise.
The selections from _Straight Up_ and _Ass_ are, however, highly suspect. Yes, we have "Day After Day", "Baby Blue" (simply the best power-pop song ever recorded by anyone), and "When I Say". But what possessed the producers to replace the majestic piano-driven _Straight Up_ take of "Name of the Game" with a highly inferior guitar-based recording from the same sessions? This is NOT the way for the casual listener to be introduced to such a great song!
As for _Ass_, why does Capitol insist on mistreating this highly underrated album so much?! First, they choose not to reissue it in the U.S., then they practically ignore it on this collection. "When I Say" is a great song, but what about "Apple of My Eye", "I Can Love You", or "Timeless"?
The big news here, of course, is the inclusion of several WB tracks, all of which are worth the price of admission, especially "Love Time" and the stunning medley "Meanwhile at the Ranch/Should I Smoke".
I recommend this collection to anyone who's never really heard Badfinger aside from there few hits. From here, though, the listener is advised to check out their individual albums, especially _Straight Up_, _Ass_ (good luck!), and _Wish You Were Here_.The Very Best of Badfinger Overview

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Jim Croce Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits Review

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Jim Croce Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits ReviewJim Croce is best known for the punchy, almost raw sound of his two biggest hits, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "You Don't Mess Around With Jim." However, he was far more versatile than that, and this collection showcases his talents.
The beautiful "Time in a Bottle" is his best ballad, but it is followed closely by "Operator" and the introspective "I Got a Name." All three of these touching songs are included in this collection.
There are a number of lesser hits here, including the title cut, but the above-mentioned five are the headliners.
Jim Croce had two distinct musical styles, both of which are well represented in this compilation. Photographs and Memories is a must-have for any collection of the great singer-songwriters of our time.Jim Croce Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits Overview14 smashes from the singularly talented (and sadly short-lived) songwriter. Includes Bad, Bad Leroy Brown; Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels); Photographs and Memories; Time in a Bottle; I Got a Name: I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song; You Don't Mess Around with Jim , and more.

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Complete Hit Singles Review

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Complete Hit Singles ReviewThree Dog Night did one very smart thing back in their time...they went back in and reworked several of their songs for the radio...sometimes strikingly different versions of the tunes from their album counterparts...but the results were always very radio-friendly, punched-up versions that took what were all great songs to begin with and catapulted them to a whole new level...the added guitar break in Joy to the World, the tighter and shorter version of Liar, the extra vocal bridge near the end of Old Fashioned Love Song, even the few seconds of added piano at the end of Eli's Coming...al very noticeable touches that made these songs just explode out of the radio back in their day. The fact that they all STILL sound fresh today speaks volumes and shows that this was not only a very excellent live band (the harmonies are STILL razor sharp, if you don't believe me, go see them when they come to your area) but a very smart band (and production team) that knew what would make these songs hits, and there's absolutely not a thing in the world wrong with that...they picked great songs from great writers and did great arrangements of them all (kind of sounds to me like someone else's master plan back in 1966 when that group got their own TV series, and their stable of writers was no B-list either). If you have the 14-track Best of Three Dog Night with the album versions of all the hits, then you need to hear this collection, compare and contrast. I guarantee you this one will be the collection that sticks in your ears!Complete Hit Singles Overview

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Best of Rockers & Ballads Review

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Best of Rockers & Ballads ReviewWe used to call this music heavy metal, but the stuff they call heavy metal today is so unlistenable that I don't know if the Scorpions still fall in that category. Anyway, it's still hard rock -- with melody. It's not just power chords, which sets it above mediocre to poor rockers like Motley Crue. It's not just wild guitar solos (I don't think that these guys could play as fast as Eddie Van Halen). But the Scorpions rank high on the metal food chain. And if you disagree, that's okay, but I don't recommend that you express that opinion in Germany, where the Scorpions reign like Bruce Springsteen in the U.S.A. or U2 in Ireland.Best of Rockers & Ballads Overview

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Pure 70's Review

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Pure 70's ReviewPure 70's has some excellent tunes from the 1970s on it; although it is far from being complete. You would need a big box set for that! To be fair, however, you do get 18 songs here and that's a pretty good value for your money. The quality of the sound is excellent and I really like that artwork, too.
The album starts with Free performing a huge hit for them entitled "All Right Now." This rocks hard and that guitar work does a lot for this song. Free sings and plays this like the champs they were and still remain; and the melody is catchy and even memorable! Boston's "More Than A Feeling" has a softer rock flavor to it; but those guitars come in big to rock on the musical interlude. Boston really knew how to turn out a rock ballad! In addition, The Allman Brothers Band does "Ramblin' Man" faultlessly, this country rocking tune never had them sounding better; the tune is also quite catchy and The Allman Brothers don't ever skip a beat--great!
"Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd really brings back memories. This tune has always been one of my favorites from the 1970s; its response to a Neil Young song was quite strong and Lynyrd Skynyrd showed they had the chops to do anything they wanted when they did this number. "American Woman" has a fine 70's flavor to it and those guitars work wonders for this tune by The Guess Who. How's about that percussion? Moreover, Eric Clapton's masterpiece "Cocaine" still shines bright all these years later; Eric sings and plays this to perfection--and beyond! "Cocaine" is easily a major highlight of this album.
Rod Stewart scored a big hit with his "Maggie May;" and listen for Steelers Wheel doing their awesome "Stuck In The Middle With You." "Struck In The Middle With You" has a great arrangement for the guitars and they never let go of a superfluous note--how's about that percussion? I also really like Blue Swede's incredibly famous and primal favored "Hooked On A Feeling;" Blue Swede never sounded better and just one listen proves it. Similarly, ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down" is a song I could never forget; this got a lot of airplay in its time and it deserved all the attention it received. It still rocks today!
10CC does "The Things We Do For Love" has a softer rock feeling to it but make no mistake about it--these guys deliver a whopper of a tune that could never be forgotten. And then there is the mysterious (at the time) song by Carly Simon, "You're So Vain." I remember how we all wondered to whom she was referring--and when we found out who it was more than just another lady or two who chimed in about how the same guy was quite the heartbreaker. (Hint: His initials are W.B.)
Elton John makes a big splash with his stunning "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word;" this last tune leaves you wanting so much more. It's a very strong and beautiful ending for this album.
Overall, Pure 70's has a lot to offer but don't think this is in any way a complete overview of the great hits from the 1970s--that would be impossible on any single CD. This is best suited for people who merely want a few broad brushstrokes type of introduction to the music of the 1970s; the diehard fan would do well to find box sets of this genre of music available for sale on this website.
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John Denver: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Review

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John Denver: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 ReviewJohn Denver's Greatest Hits, Volume II, delivers one of the rarest situations in musical compilations: a second GH collection that is better than the first.
This disk contains 12 tracks which represent the full range of Denver's tremendous talents. There are wonderful, heart-tugging ballads like Annie's Song and Fly Away; tongue-in-cheek good-natured ditties like Thank God I'm a Country Boy; and the beautiful, multi-tiered tribute to Jacques Cousteau, Calypso.
The only reason this collection is rated at 5-stars is that 6-stars isn't available. Absolutely outstanding!John Denver: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Overview

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My Favorite Kreisler Review

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My Favorite Kreisler ReviewKreisler's violin pieces are generally short but difficult to play well. But Perlman has made them look easy.My Favorite Kreisler Overview

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The Village Sessions Review

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The Village Sessions ReviewI'm not very objective when it comes to John Mayer, since I love everything he does. However... this CD really blew me away the first time I listened to it. I love Continuum and Try!, but this CD really reminded me how great John is on acoustic guitar. If you're not crazy about anything John has done since Room For Squares, you will probably love this. Not since "Inside Wants Out" have I heard John playing such pure, unadulterated guitar. You can just get lost in imagining his fingers moving over the strings... and it's fun to hear some guitar and vocal variations on the songs contained in Continuum (5 songs) and Try! (1 song); John's voice sounds as smooth as honey. My biggest critique, and this is one I've heard lamented by other John Mayer fans, is that it's only six songs... and it leaves you desperately wanting more more more. At only $1 per song, it's worth it to get this CD though. I wish John would put out a double album with 26 acoustic songs on it... although I love his electric guitar too, he is so amazing on acoustic and it's a great change of pace when you're feeling mellow. My favorite song on Continuum, "Belief," is included on this CD and sounds fantastic. "In Repair" is also fantastic. They all are, actually. "Waiting on the World..." sounds similar, except the background vocals are really different and gives the song a whole new twist.
6/09 Wow! in the two and a half years since I wrote this review, the price has skyrocketed from $5.99 to over $21 !!!! That's outrageous!The Village Sessions OverviewThe ever prolific john mayer delivers 'the village sessions', a 6-song ep that retools favorites from his highly regarded 'continuum' album. With the exception of the ben harper track, the ep was recorded in one day at the village recorder in LA.

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